Destined for more
by AnadoraBlack
Summary: Prequel to Debts unpaid/Another time/Fate unwaits. Follow Padawan Irri Nabié as she forms new friendships that will change her life, and the galaxy, forever... Anakin/OC
1. Irri

_A/N: I thought about writing this very carefully. And then I had an idea: along with writing a prequel to _Debts unpaid_ (which it is, by the way, you can read it after, or before, __whatever) with Anakin x OC, I can also write about Obi and Eirtaé's relationship. And I really liked the idea._

_;)_

* * *

_Italic speech: _mind-bound speech

**Bold speech**: visions

Underlined speech: foreign languages (Wookie, Geonosian...)

* * *

**1. Irri**

Irri was nine when she was given the opportunity to visit her home once again.

She had been taken as a Jedi apprentice when she was four, and had never again seen any member of her family.

She had known, however, that sometime during her sixth year, her older brother had died fighting the Cato Nemodians threatening Naboo.

Her Master, Aayla Secura, the blue Twi-lek, had thought it a great opportunity to go visit, before hell got loose.

Irri was tall for her age, with long blonde hair tucked into a braid, with her padawan's braid bouncing on her shoulder with each step she took.

She hadn't been introduced to the light-sabre yet. Her Master, being an expert on Ataru's form, the form of aggression, had decided to wait before teaching her its moves.

Instead, Irri had been heavily trained onto meditating, provoking vivid visions of the future, as well as using the Force on many occasions.

"_You never know when your light-sabre might be taken away from you, young one_" her Master used to tell her when she rebelled.

She was strong willed, the young one.

As well as extremely reckless.

But wiser Masters said it to be normal at such a young age.

!-!-!-!-!

When their ship docked in Theed, Irri got out first, breathing in the air of her home-planet for the first time in five years.

Memories of the place came flooding her mind, and she smiled into thin air.

"You like it here, young Padawan. And the sun suits you."

Irri whirled around to see her Master, glorious in her blue skin, descend the stairs and walk towards her. "Thank you Master."

"Come now, child. I have to report to the newly chosen Queen before we go in search for your parents."

Irri nodded and trotted beside her Master, and into Theed's great halls.

Ivy was climbing all around them, twirling around columns, covering the ceiling, running along corridors.

She loved the place.

!-!-!-!-!

"Your Majesty, Queen Amidala, I am Aayla Secura, Master of the Jedi Order, and this is my Padawan, Irri Nabié."

Irri watched as the young woman before her smiled kindly behind her white make-up. She smiled back.

"Are you from Naboo, Irri?"

She nodded and smiled wider. "I am, your Majesty."

Amidala smiled back. "Then welcome home. Master Secura, should you need anything, all you need is ask."

Aayla bowed her head a little, and gestured Irri to do the same. "Thank you, my lady. We will leave now, Irri longs to see her parents."

"I will send two of my handmaidens with you. Naboo isn't safe anymore for Jedis, I'm afraid."

Aayla smiled again and began retreating into the halls. "Thanks once again." Then she watched as Irri fidgeted with her cloak. "Behave, child."

!-!-!-!-!

The handmaidens the Queen assigned to guide them into the city were named Sabé and Eirtaé. While the first was easily mistaken for the queen, the second...

While Amidala and Sabé were both brown-haired and brown-eyed, Eirtaé was blonde and blue-eyed.

But kind.

Very very kind.

She took a fancy to Irri almost as soon as they exchanged their names.

Which annoyed Aayla to no end.

"Irri, child... Please behave."

Irri's eyes settled onto her Master. "I'm sorry. It's just... Do you think they'll remember me?"

But it was Eirtaé who answered. "No parent could ever forget a child like you Irri. You make them proud, I am certain of it. Every family in Theed would be proud to have a Jedi as a child."

But Aayla's eyes were not saying the same. "Irri, please. Promise me you will behave. And by that I mean no crying. On any circumstances."

Irri nodded. "I promise, Master."

"Good."

!-!-!-!-!

By the time they reached the part of town where most of the poor population lived, Irri's blood was boiling in her veins. She so wished to leave her Master behind and run, run, run in those streets she became to recognize, enter the small shop of her father, cry her parents' name, and throw herself in their arms once they'd appear, proud and happy to see her again.

None of this happened.

When Sabé and Eirtaé stopped them in front of the shop, Irri realised something that hadn't crossed her mind even once: maybe her parents didn't want to see her.

Her father's shop, which used to be one of the finest if you were in search for spices, was condemned by planks. Graffiti scarred the little white house, which seemed abandoned.

Irri felt tears threaten to fall, but she had sworn not to cry, she wouldn't cry.

And then, a painful figure escaped the house's door.

Irri's mother used to have flowing blonde hair that fell to her waist beautifully. It had turned grey somewhere during those five years of separation, and her once twinkling green eyes had now faded into darkness.

Master Secura put a hand on Irri's shoulder, who had started to shake. "Careful, little one." Then she started walking towards the woman, Irri high on her heels.

She was starting to believe those memories she had of her mother had never been real at all.

!-!-!-!-!

"Mrs Nabié?"

The woman lifted her head from her work – she was scratching empty a kitchen pot – and openly glared at the Jedi. "I know you, don't I?"

Aayla wasn't known to be harsh with anyone, so she didn't take offence. Yet. "Yes, you do. I am Aayla Secura, Master in the Jedi Order."

"Ah yes, I knew this blue skin could only be a Jedi's. You are not welcome here, freak."

Irri, behind her Master, couldn't take it anymore. She stepped before the protective stance of her master and friend, and planted her eyes in her mother's. "Mother, it is me, Irri. Do you not recognize me?"

At that the woman stood.

But instead of going to hug the only child she had left, she raised her hand...and slapped her across the face. "You are no more a child of mine. Now go before I call for help."

Irri was not crying. But she was shaking so hard with pain, sadness and even rage that Eirtaé had to scoop her in her arms to exit the scene.

!-!-!-!-!

Master Secura's mind reached her padawan's in no time.

"_Everything is fine, child._"

Irri shook her inner head. "_I don't have a family anymore._"

"_Yes you do._" And her hand touched hers. Then she switched back to open speech. "Let's get back to the palace. I fear something grave is going to happen, and my padawan needs rest."

Sabé nodded and hurried through the maze of streets, while Eirtaé sighed deeply. "Poor little thing." Her lips touched Irri's forehead, and the child fell into a dreamless sleep – courtesy of her master.


	2. Hiding in plain sight

_A/N: I decided to post two chapters today. The others will follow, approximatively once a week, unless I finish book one earlier than scheduled (and it shall be, I'm writing it in a daze)._

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**2. Hiding in plain sight**

* * *

Irri slept for about two hours. When she woke up, her Master was fidgeting with her light-sabre, pulling something out of its debts and replacing it with a round object.

Aayla Secura needn't look up to know Irri was awake.

Her voice echoed in the large yet not much furnished room.

"Are you ready, now, young one?"

Irri sat up. "Ready for what, Master?"

Aayla stood, and went to look through the window. "I've had a vision this night, before we landed. Something bad is about to happen to this planet, and we can't intervene."

"Why can't we?" Irri stood too and put her padawan tunic on.

"Because Master Jinn and his own padawan have been commissioned in our state.

"Oh." Irri's lips formed a smile. She loved Master Jinn. He was always kind to her and smiled and laughed when she was making jokes.

As for Obi-Wan...well, he was less funny, more serious, but still kind.

"What are we to do, then, Master?"

Aayla's eyes met her padawan's. "Hide. Make sure any foe of Naboo is unable to find us until we find a way to escape discreetly."

"I know of a place then." Irri took her cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. "The forest."

"Irri, child, the forest might not prove secure enough."

Irri smirked. "Believe me, Master, it is secure enough. Especially if we stumble across a Gungan's path."

Aayla's eyes widened. "What on Earth is a Gungan?"

"You shall see. Oh, and, don't forget to take your breather, we might need it."

And with those words, Irri escaped the room and trotted right towards the Queen's office.

Her Master took quite a time to follow.

!-!-!-!-!

"Your Majesty, I am sorry, but my Master and I have to go."

Queen Amidala tilted her head to the side. "Why such a hurry?"

"We...we have been summoned back to Coruscant."

Master Secura arrived, not in a hurry at all, and stood beside her padawan. "Whatever this one just told you, it is a truth."

"A truth? Not the truth?" Irri cleared her throat, but there was no need. "Jedis won't ever cease to amaze me. I bid you farewell then, Master Secura, Padawan Nabié. Shall your trip be agreeable."

"Thank you, your Majesty."

Irri trotted behind her Master.

Aayla reached her in mind in no time. "_This was a dangerous move, Irri. What if she had pried it off us?_"

Irri smirked to herself. "_Naboo don't pry things off their guests. Ever._"

"_Then you have Corusci blood, young one._"

Irri chuckled, and followed.

!-!-!-!-!

Once they were out of Theed, though, things started to move.

The invasion of Naboo had begun.

Warships were landing everywhere around the forest.

Irri pushed her hood off her face. She felt confused with her own display of emotions. She felt the pain of her people amongst everything, and still, a strong feeling of revenge clouded most of it.

The loss of her family was still fresh, she would not survive the loss of her home-planet on top of it.

She looked over her shoulder at her master, who had taken her light-sabre, though not lighting it. "This way."

She was running then, running and praying to whomever was above that she would remember the way well.

They had to hide behind bushes more than once.

Droids. It was droids that were invading them.

Irri's hatred for the Federation grew even more.

"Young one, we can't stay here much longer."

"We're not far, master." She resumed her running, making sure, using the Force, that no droid could ever get a glimpse of them.

Until she heard the characteristic buzz of a light-sabre lit behind her.

"Irri, hide! Someone powerful is coming!"

But instead of doing what she was told, Irri stayed where she was, and closed her eyes to open her mind to the Force.

Scanning the area for any soul she might recognize.

Once she touched one she knew, a smile formed onto her lips.

And she opened her eyes, speaking up.

"You can come forth, Master Jinn, it's only us."

!-!-!-!-!

Master Secura made an annoyed noise before killing off her sabre. "Stop doing that."

Irri smiled while trying to hear anyone coming their way.

When Obi-Wan and his master appeared to her left, her smile only widened.

Her eyes and Master Jinn's met at once, and the older man smiled kindly down at her.

"Irri Nabié. What a surprise."

She chuckled. "It is nice to see you, Master Jinn."

He bowed his head, then turned to Aayla. "Master Secura."

And Obi-Wan went to stand by Irri. "I suppose this encounter is a coincidence?" But his smirk and eyes told another story.

Irri nudged him playfully in the ribs, which she could reach, surprisingly. "Nah, it isn't."

"Should have guessed." He lit his sabre and stayed put for any kind of aggression.

That is when Irri noticed the Gungan staying behind.

She advanced and outstretched a hand. "Hello, I'm Irri. I'm a Naboo."

The creature seemed unsure of what to do with her hand, but he took it anyway. "Missa Jar-Jar Binks. Nice meeting youssa."

She chuckled. "It's the first time I actually meet a Gungan."

"Wessa going to Gungancity. Youssa coming?"

She looked over at her master, but by the way she was deep in conversation with Master Jinn, she guessed what the answer would be. "Yes, I think we are."

"Nice it is, moi moi nice."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

!-!-!-!-!

Aayla indeed agreed to accompany her fellow Jedi, thinking it wiser to escape in group rather than alone.

Jar-Jar showed them the way, although Irri would have recognized the path without help. Her brother had taken her to the Gungan lake once, and they had been heavily grounded for that once they had been home. It was little before she was taken as padawan by the Order.

They reached the lake when dusk arose.

Irri was chilling even under her cloak, while her master, although lightly dressed, seemed to rather enjoy the chill.

"How much further?" Irri looked at Master Jinn, who had spoken uncharacteristically with a little impatience in his voice.

"Wessa going under water, okiday? I my warning you, Gungans no linking outsiders, so respect 'em, no wreck 'em."

"Don't worry, this hasn't been our day for warm welcomes..."

Obi-Wan and his master took their breathers and advanced into the water.

Aayla did the very same, wincing a little as she entered the cold liquid – Irri knew she hated water.

Irri smiled widely, and as Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder for the youngest of their party, she launched herself into the lake and disappeared into its depths at the same time as Jar-Jar.

!-!-!-!-!

Gungancity was, as Irri suspected, a huge agglomeration of bubbles, inside which one big house laid.

Jar-Jar brought them to the biggest of them all.

As soon as she had passed the thin cover of the bubble, Irri could tell there was air. She took the breather off her mouth, then turned around when she heard her name.

It was her master. She hurried at her side.

"Stop trying to lose me, child!"

Irri cast her eyes down. "Sorry Master."

"It's alright. But stop all the same."

"I'll try."

Aayla sighed. "Try, yes, that's what I thought."

!-!-!-!-!

The four humans soon discovered the Gungans were a little frightened of their appearance. They all were making stunned sounds and walked out of their way when Jar-Jar brought them in front of the leader of his species.

Irri was marvelling. All her childhood she had wished to come back to this place and discover why her parents had never wanted her to.

She was in her dream.

And didn't care whatsoever if the Gungans killed them or not.

The aforementioned leader was an oversized Gungan with an enormous belly and double-chin. Irri stood beside her master and tried to make any water left in her clothes leave it, until Aayla patted her on the shoulder so she paid attention.

The Gungan leader cackled twice or thrice. "You cannot bes here. This army of mechanics up there is new, we saw."

Master Jinn spoke up. "A droid army is about to attack the Naboo. We must warn them."

"Wessa no like the Naboo." He cackled. "The Naboo think they're so smarty. They think their brain so big."

Obi-Wan took a pace forward. "Once the droids take control of the surface, they'll take control of you."

"Missa no think so. They not know of ussa."

Obi-Wan seemed at a loss.

Irri took several paces forward and stood beside her fellow padawan. Although still a child, she knew some things. "You and the Naboo form a symbiosis circle. What happens to one will affect the other, you must understand this." Obi-Wan smiled down at her in agreement.

The leader, at first, paused. Irri knew he was not pleased that a child addressed him like that. Then, after a long minute, he answered. "Wessa not care," he wriggled his chin, "about the Naboo."

Qui-Gon took the lead once again. "And speeders are on our way?"

"We gonna speed youssa away."

"We could use a transport."

"Wessa give youssa uno bongo. The speedest way to the Naboo is going through...the planet core. Now...go..."

"Thank you for your help, we leave in peace." All four bowed before him, then retreated.

Jar-Jar, who had been restrained, then couldn't wait a minute longer. As they passed him, he spoke up. "Going to the planet core? Bad moment! Any help would be welcome..."

Qui-Gon turned to him, against Obi-Wan's judgement. "Master, we are short on time."

"We need a navigator to take us through the planet's core. This Gungan may be of help." Then he walked back to the leader. "What is to become of Jar-Jar Binks here?"

"He's to be punished."

"I saved his life. He owes me what you call a life debt. Your gods demand that his life belongs to me now."

"Binks? Youssa did a life play with this and this, hum?" Jar-Jar nodded. The leader wriggled his chin again. "Be gone with him!"

Qui-Gon bowed again and went back to the group waiting for him.

Irri smiled as she watched Jar-Jar being pulled off his chains.

The Gungan didn't seem quite as enthusiastic for a reason. "Count me out of this one. Better dead here than dead into core..."

Irri took his arm and pulled him towards the exit. "Don't speak nonsense. You'll be fine."


	3. Saving a queen

**3. Saving a queen**

* * *

The bongo proved to be a four-places sub-marine working with unknown power.

Fortunately for them, Irri was still smaller than an adult. She took a place between her master and Master Jinn on the back, while Jar-Jar, with his long legs, sat in front. Obi-Wan would take the commands, since he was the most qualified to pilot a foreign ship.

Once Gungancity was far behind and all lights apart from the cockpit one started to fade, Obi-Wan questioned their guide.

"Why were you banished, Jar-Jar?"

"It is a long thing. Short part of it would be...uh...missa...clumsy."

Irri's eyes widened. "You were banished because you are clumsy?"

"Uh...youssa might be saying that. Missa maybe causing one or two littlely accidenti. Youssa say bad things, then crush me, then banished."

Irri was about to answer it, when the ship was hauled by an enormous fish.

She swallowed back a cry of surprise. It would have passed for a cry of fear, which it wasn't.

Her master grunted. "I hate water."

"Big coba-fish! Huge teeth!"

Said fish started to take them away, until another, huge fish crushed it in his mouth.

Master Jinn found it rather entertaining. "There's always a bigger fish."

"Missa say we're going back, now."

Irri chuckled. "Jar-Jar, this is far too fun to go back."

"Irri Nabié, you behave." Her master was glaring a her then.

Master Jinn chuckled back though. "Let her be a child, Master Secura. She will grow up soon enough. Besides, I too find this rather entertaining."

Obi-Wan sighed. "Just what I feared. A mini Qui-Gon Jinn..."

At that all four Jedis laughed.

While Jar-Jar made a gesture meaning he found them all crazy...

!-!-!-!-!

The journey proved to be quite long, unlike Irri would have thought.

"Where are wessa going?"

"Don't worry, the Force will guide us."

"Oh, maxi big, the Force!"

Then the ship started to bleep.

Obi-Wan pulled a level, undeterred. "We're losing power."

The lights gave in, and the ship landed on the bottom of the ocean.

"Wessa dying here!"

"Relax, we're not in trouble yet." The lights came back on.

"What yet? Monsters are there, leaking in here. All sinking and no power? When youssa thinking wessa in trouble?"

Obi-Wan pulled a panel and made the engines run back on. "See? Power's back."

But there was a huge alligator-like thing just before their eyes.

Jar-Jar was seriously panicking.

So Master Jinn used the Force to calm him. "Relax!"

The Gungan fell into his seat, nearly knocked out.

Obi-Wan caustically noticed. "You overdid it."

Irri's eyes then turned to notice how her own master had dug herself deep into meditation to avoid any disturbance in their trip.

"Do not worry child, she is going to be alright."

She looked up into Master Jinn's blue eyes. "I know."

!-!-!-!-!

It took them another hour to erupt at the surface.

Jar-Jar seemed to be, bizarrely for an amphibian, better on land than in water.

Irri unclasped herself and put a hand to her master's forehead, joining mind with her.

"_Master Secura, we have reached Theed._"

Aayla's eyes opened, and she smiled faintly. "Finally. I thought this journey would have never ended."

Irri smiled at her.

Aayla then looked up at Master Jinn. "What are we to do?"

He seemed deep in thought. "Obi-Wan and I will retrieve the Queen and suite and bring them to the main hangar. You and Irri go there at once and secure the place."

The Twi-lek nodded. "Then we are to escape this planet together."

"I think it wiser. We are headed to Coruscant anyway."

She nodded again before gesturing Irri forward.

The group separated before the city's doors.

"Master, how are we securing the main hangar when I do not have a light-sabre?"

Aayla dismissed the question quite quickly. "You can use the Force to push them away strongly enough so that meeting a wall will disable them. I have faith in you, Irri. Besides, maybe this is the time to live some dangerous adventures."

Irri smirked before putting her hood over her face. "Careful now, I won't forget this."

!-!-!-!-!

When they reached the hangar, they soon assessed the situation.

It seemed all the remaining pilots in Naboo's army had been taken prisoner, as they were all sitting hands on their head, droids watching for them.

"There are many, Master."

"You'll be fine, Irri." Aayla took her light-sabre in hand. "You walk behind those ships," she gestured to the left and the fighters docked there, "while I distract them. Try and be quick, young one, I might not be as strong as you may think."

"I'll be quick as lightning." She put aside her cloak and hurried behind a ship, her feet silent on the marble floor.

She walked quickly yet carefully towards the group of prisoners, and heard as her master lit her sabre and walked straight to the ambush.

"In the name of the Senate, release those men, or you'll die."

Two droids, in front of Irri's hiding place, seemed to ponder. "She is a Jedi."

"But she is alone."

"You're right. Let's kill her."

Irri then jumped from behind her barrel, and Force pushed those two droids so far that when they landed, their piece flew in every corner of the hangar.

She clicked open the pilot's bounds. "Hurry!"

Behind her, her master's sabre buzzed, and droids fell.

Until she heard the characteristic sound of a blaster being charged.

"Stop. Turn around. Or you will be destroyed."

Irri put her hands up and turned around to face one tiny droid. She smirked. "As you say." She then Force-jumped above it and landed behind, putting her hand straight into its body, and pulling out the main reactor.

The droid fell to its knees, powerless.

"Don't mess with me, trash."

Then Aayla put her sabre off.

The fight was over.

!-!-!-!-!

Once Master Jinn, Obi-Wan, Jar-Jar and the Queen's suite arrived, the hangar was cleared and her shuttle ready to depart.

Obi-Wan, while sitting in the cockpit with the pilot...and Irri, smiled up at the child. "You are full of surprises, Padawan Nabié."

She chuckled. "Thank you, Padawan Kenobi."

He chuckled back, then turned to the main controls. "Let's get back home."

To that, Irri's blood froze in her veins.

Home.

She had no more home.

Slowly, she stood up, and dismissed Obi-Wan's questions by saying she needed sleep.

She headed right for the quarters she had been assigned with her master, and laid down.

Tears started cascading down her cheeks not soon after.

!-!-!-!-!

When Irri opened her eyes, she realised several things.

First, her master was not in her bed. When Irri had come in, she was repairing something on her light-sabre and had not asked one question.

Second, the door to their quarters was opened.

And third, her master was having a conversation in the corridor with no one else than Master Jinn. About her.

"...seems out of range."

"We were on Naboo to see her family. But once there, her mother rejected her."

"Ah, so she is in pain."

"Yes, she is. But I think she is trying to relocate her pain and anger towards another goal-"

"Saving her home-planet."

"Yes."

"It is hard, sometimes, to believe your padawan is only nine."

"And yet..."

"Yes, I know how hard it can be sometimes. Well... When we land on this Tatooine, I would advise you to try and find a ship as fast as possible to go back to Coruscant before we do. Irri might need Master Yoda's advice."

Irri's blood froze again.

Master Yoda.

He had chastised her so many times about her recklessness and inability to shut down her feelings that she feared what this might lead to.

So she stopped listening, and tried to shut her mind from reality.

!-!-!-!-!

**"What's your name?"**

** "Tani. And yours?"**

** "Irri."**

** "Are you a Jedi like my father?"**

** "Yes, I am."**

** Irri was standing in the middle of a desert, with a speeder next to her, and a small child before her eyes.**

** She herself was an adult now, by the way her own body felt like.**

** The child was red-haired and blue eyed. And she felt like a padawan – strong willed, with a strong link to the Force – although she wasn't one.**

** "He is not home. He's gone to Mos Eisley to fetch me my birthday gift."**

** "Is it your birthday? Well, happy birthday then."**

** "Thank you. Do you want to wait for Dad here?"**

** Irri shook her head. "No, thank you Tani. Just tell him that I came, okay?"**

** "Yes. I will."**

** Irri nodded and turned around to leave.**

** But the child had one last question to ask.**

** "Why are you blue and translucent?"**

!-!-!-!-!

This vision unsettled Irri. She didn't know what to make of it.

A Jedi had had a child. It was forbidden, and yet apparently possible. The child had seemed familiar, somehow, in a way she didn't understand.

And then herself. She had been an adult in body, but hadn't been there really. She had been..."blue and translucent". An hologram? In the middle of a desert?

She needed to think about that carefully.

!-!-!-!-!

"Hey, Irri! Come back to see if you could learn to pilot, have you?"

The young one rolled her eyes and sat straight on Obi-Wan's knees. "No. I couldn't sleep anymore, so I thought I'd come and bother you."

He chuckled.

The Naboo pilot gaze at them thoughtfully. "Are you brother and sister?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Not at all."

"It is strange, you look like you were."

Irri's eyes settled on Obi-Wan's. Then both erupted in laughs.

"Strange indeed."


	4. Tatooine

_A/N: Sorry for the wait, readers. Between work and my already crowded free time, I forget sometimes to update...even when six chapters are already ready. ;)_

* * *

**4. Tatooine**

* * *

The ship landed on the deserted planet – sending a warning into Irri's mind – on the outskirts of a small city.

Qui-Gon had advised Aayla and Irri to wear beige cloaks over their Jedi outfits – even if Aayla's barely there outfit couldn't be qualified as Jedi-like.

The small droid that had saved the ship earlier, R2-D2, was to accompany them, as well as Jar-Jar Binks, who would not leave Qui-Gon's side.

The two suns of the planet burnt Irri's pale skin.

As it did Jar-Jar's apparently.

"The sand it kill missa's skin."

"Wait!"

The group stopped and turned around, only to see Captain Panaka and a young handmaiden walk their way.

"Her Highness commands you to take her handmaiden with you."

"No more commands from her Highness today, Captain. This space trek is not going to be pleasant."

"The Queen wishes it. She's curious about the planet."

Qui-Gon sighed. "This is not a good idea. Stay close to me."

The handmaiden didn't speak a word and fell into pace with the Jedi Master, while Irri looked at her closely.

She shouldn't have been older than fifteen, and yet there was a stance about her, something in her air that looked older by at least five years. Maybe being a Queen's handmaiden made you age quicker.

Irri was trotting now to keep up the pace. Master Qui-Gon was a tall man and took long strides, as did Jar-Jar and her own master. The little mech, with his wheels, had no problem keeping up.

But she was still short. And she wouldn't like running in the middle of the desert by a mile.

Once they reached the city, Mater Jinn seemed to assess what kind of people they'd meet.

"Farmers, for the most part, some indigents tribes, and carpenters. A small space-port like this one are havens for those who do not wish to be found."

"Like us."

Irri's ears tickled at the sound of the handmaiden's voice. It was awfully familiar, and yet she was certain she had never spoken with her before.

Aayla stopped the group. "Master Jinn, Irri and I will now leave you to your search for a hyperdrive. We have to look for a way to go back to Coruscant as soon as possible."

The handmaiden seemed troubled by this. "And not taking Her Highness with you?"

Master Jinn sighed. "Master Secura and her padawan are more than able to reach Coruscant before we do and alert the Senate before your queen and vouch for their witness. It is safer for a child Irri's age to be off this planet as soon as possible."

Irri protested. "I'm completely able to fend for myself, Master Jinn."

He chuckled. "As much as I'd like to agree, I do not, little one." He then bowed his head to her master, and left with his company.

Leaving Aayla and Irri alone in the middle of a very unknown place.

!-!-!-!-!

"We shall start with a local bar. That's where you usually can find pilots off duty."

Irri kicked in a stone. "And I'll have to wait outside."

"And you will be patient, young padawan. These last few days, you have been awfully close to a dangerous path I do not wish you to cross. You will wait for me, and you will stay out of trouble."

"Yes Master."

"Good. Now come. I do not like the idea of lingering here."

!-!-!-!-!

They both soon found a small bar in the middle of the city.

Master Secura took off her cloak, counting on her stunning appearance to guarantee them a free trip to Coruscant.

She put her cloak in Irri's hands and leaned down to look directly into her eyes.

"Do not move from this spot on any circumstance, understand?"

Irri winced. "What if I'm under attack?"

"You won't be. If I know something for sure, it is that this planet is familiar with slavery. I shall make you my slave. No one will harm you." She turned around and passed the dark tunnel leading to the establishment.

Irri grunted between her teeth. "A slave. Great."

!-!-!-!-!

It only took ten minutes to Aayla before she exited the bar, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

She took her cloak back from Irri's hands and wrapped it back around her frame.

"So?"

Aayla sighed. "Patience, I said."

"Sorry."

Her master chuckled. "We have our man. He's a spice trader. But he won't leave this planet before a certain podrace which takes place tomorrow."

"Podrace? What is that?"

"I do not know, and do not wish to. Come, let's go back to the ship, I fear a sandstorm is coming."

Irri nodded and hurried behind her master, wishing they'd get back to the ship before being hit by the storm, and wondering what on Earth was a podrace...

!-!-!-!-!

They reached the ship while wind and sand were starting a dangerous dance.

Obi-Wan and the Captain Panaka were waiting for them. Well, all of them.

Aayla walked to the padawan. "I fear they haven't yet exited the city."

"This storm will slow them down."

The Captain's com bleeped. "It looks pretty bad." He took the com. "Panaka?"

"We're receiving a message from home."

"I'll be right back."

Obi-Wan waited for Irri to pass him to follow. "So, in what kind of trouble did you put yourself this time."

It was her master who answered. "Surprisingly so, none." Irri stuck her tongue at her back. "And I sensed that."

!-!-!-!-!

They all sat down in the "throne room" of the ship, where the holographic form of the ambassador soon appeared.

Irri listened carefully.

"The death toll is catastrophic. I must bow to their wishes. You must contact me."

Obi-Wan immediately rose. "It's a trick. Send no reply. Send no transmissions of any kind." And he exited the room.

Irri rose along with her master, who turned to the Queen. "I believe he is right. Do not answer, or they will find us."

The Queen nodded. "Understood."

Irri's ears tickled again. And when she finally understood what bugged her, her blue eyes met those, equally blue, of Eirtaé on the "queen"'s side. She shook her head, and Irri closed her gaping mouth. She nodded back, and hurried out.

!-!-!-!-!

Irri left her master and Obi-Wan contact Master Jinn back in the city, while she herself was waiting outside the queen's quarters.

Eirtaé showed up not late after.

"Irri..."

The young padawan couldn't restrain herself any longer. "The Queen's Sabé! So the real one has gone with Master Jinn in the city, that's why I recognized-" Eirtaé pushed a hand to her mouth, cutting her out.

"Don't tell anyone. Not even the Captain knows."

Irri shook her head and the handmaiden released her. "I swear I won't tell a soul."

"Good. Not let me accompany you back to your quarters. I long to know how you came back to Theed."

!-!-!-!-!

They both reached the deck at the same time as Obi-Wan ran to meet Irri.

"Irri, I need you in the cockpit." Then his eyes settled on Eirtaé, and he zeroed on her.

As she zeroed on him, apparently.

Irri mistook their staring. "Oh, yes, I guess I'll have to introduce you. So, Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is Eirtaé, handmaiden to Queen Amidala."

He cleared his throat. "Pleasure."

She smiled kindly. "The pleasure is all mine, padawan." Then she turned to Irri, who found out she was faintly blushing. "I'll leave you to help your friend here. If you ever wish to speak with me, you know where to find me."

And she hurried in the opposite direction.

Obi-Wan sighed deeply before taking Irri's hand and pulling her to the cockpit.

Turned out he needed her little expertise to find out what the radar pointed out in the desert.

Something – some twitch in the Force – told her it wasn't a sand-beast.

!-!-!-!-!

Later that day, Irri was dodging some blast off a training ball usually used for light-sabre training.

Obi-Wan found her twirling around like a ninja.

"Irri!"

She stopped in her tracks and gained a good blast right on the arm. "Ow! Obi-Wan!"

He chuckled. "Sorry. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." She hurried to the table he sat at.

Her fellow padawan carefully took her wounded arm and checked the burn, then went into his pocket to retrieve a balm he applied on it. "Tomorrow you are leaving, am I right?"

"Yes, after that podrace I still know nothing about."

"Master Jinn has found a boy with unlikely high midichlorian count. He's betting our ship against a hyperdrive, and I guess, the boy himself."

"So?"

"I feel something is off with the Force, can't you?"

"Have you asked Master Secura?"

"No, she is meditating right now. I wanted to ask you. You have a strong link with the Force for someone your age. I wondered."

Irri sighed and closed her mind off her surroundings, settling onto the Force.

"Yes, sure enough, there is a disturbance, and it seems to revolve around a young boy."

"That's what I feared." Obi-Wan stood. "When you reach Coruscant, promise me you will try and find something about people who have more than 20,000 midichlorian count per millilitre of blood in the Archives."

Irri furrowed her brows. "I will, I promise, but, what for?"

Obi-Wan paused before answering. "Apparently, the boy has no father at all."

And he exited the room.

!-!-!-!-!

**Irri was looking through a window on a base settled on an asteroid.**

** Behind her, a much older Obi-Wan, now ginger and bearing a strong beard, appeared and settled beside her.**

** "Thank you for bringing her to safety."**

** "You can thank Senator Organa too."**

** "I have already. How are you?"**

** "Heartbroken like never before." She sighed deeply. "I cannot understand why he did this."**

** "He had his reasons. And now, we must hide."**

** "I won't hide, Obi-Wan. I have to at least try and reason him."**

** "You won't succeed, Irri."**

** "And yet I know I have to try."**

** His hand gripped hers hard. "I won't lose you too, my friend."**

** She turned and faced him. "Eirtaé... I am so sorry for her loss."**

** A tear fell into his beard. He ignored it. "Thank you."**

** And Irri hugged Obi-Wan very tight, while her mind journeyed somewhere onto a huge ship called the Executor, where she knew lied her last mission...**


	5. Leaving and landing

**5. Leaving and landing**

* * *

When Irri woke up on the following morning, her last vision had her still unsettled greatly.

Many things were bugging her in that vision.

Her obvious close friendship with Obi-Wan wasn't one. She had already come to like him more and more with the last days she spent at his side.

No, what bugged her was the "her" they had been speaking about, and the "he" she had to stop and who had broken her heart.

What was the _Executor_? And why did she feel like it might be the end of her road?

Many questions that would probably remain unanswered until she reached the Jedi temple later that day – hopefully.

!-!-!-!-!

"Irri? We are to leave now. The race's begun, and I'm sure by the time we reach the arena, it will be over."

The padawan nodded and wrapped her cloak around herself.

She turned to Obi-Wan and Eirtaé who had come to bid them farewell.

The handmaiden seemed flushed today as well – most probably because of the heat – while the Jedi fidgeted with his own cloak awkwardly.

"I will see you on Coruscant, Padawan Kenobi." Aayla bowed to both people and turned around to start her journey.

Irri smiled up at Eirtaé. "I do hope I'll see you soon."

"And I you, Irri."

Then she looked at Obi-Wan. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm away."

He chuckled. "As if."

She smirked and turned around, running to keep up with her master.

!-!-!-!-!

Mos Espa was a little bigger than the small city she had "visited" the day before. There were many more hangars where to park your ship, and even more bars to drown your sorrow in.

But the crowds seemed to be magnetised by a whole other thing.

"Be careful there, young one. I would not wish to lose you."

Irri nodded gravely. "You won't, Master."

So Aayla wrapped her cloak even closer to her body, and made her way through a maze of people. Her padawan had only to follow, though, being smaller, she had more difficulties being seen.

Anyway, Irri didn't get lost, and followed her master as closely as she could seeing the pace Aayla was walking at. And a little more than five minutes later, they reached a balcony.

"The race is almost over. I can see Master Jinn from here, can you?"

Irri looked over the rail and scanned the crowd. Sure thing, facing her was an observation tower. And a great power stood on this tower. She smiled. "Yes, I can feel him."

Aayla smiled down at her, then became serious again. "Do not forget who you are to me."

"I won't."

!-!-!-!-!

Their pilot was a small, very small man named Carrock. He was even smaller than Irri by a few inches, and it surprised her greatly that a man that size could pilot a ship.

He seemed more interested in Aayla though, which comforted Irri in the idea that her master didn't have to use the Force to make people commit to her.

"I have to pay my debts, and I'm coming. You stay here with your slave, I'll be right back." He didn't have to bow low to kiss Aayla's knuckles, and then he trotted off to another balcony.

Irri bowed her head in submission as her master settled next to her and whispered quietly. "Do not speak a word or it might be our downfall." Irri nodded almost imperceptibly.

!-!-!-!-!

It appeared Carrock had a medium-size ship which contained mostly spice supplies for Coruscant market. The remaining space in it concerned a table and small kitchen just behind the cockpit, and where he harshly gestured Irri to sit while he took his place in the pilot's seat with Aayla at his side.

Soon after they departed, Irri gasped as she felt a strong disturbance in the Force. Something like she had rarely felt before. It wasn't the same thing she had felt when checking the radar with Obi-Wan. It was brighter, and yet colder...

Her master, although still in deep conversation with their guide, reached her in mind not long after the feeling faded.

"_I believe this was the boy I heard Obi-Wan talk about._"

"_Which boy, Master?_"

"_Master Jinn has found a boy heavily marked with the Force. I believe he will try to make him become a Jedi._"

"_But then, why have I only felt him now?_"

"_I have only felt him now, too, young padawan. I think we will soon learn that he has won the podrace._"

Aayla left Irri's mind, but her padawan couldn't help but grunt in annoyance. "I still don't know what a podrace is..."

!-!-!-!-!

Coruscant was a little way from Tatooine, as Irri discovered when she stumbled across a map of the galaxy hanging on a wall.

It would take them most of the day to arrive, if they didn't have to stop hyperdrive on their way.

The young padawan settled for a quick enquiry of what their guide possessed in this room.

She managed to sneak a small part of dry meat for her diner – since neither Carrock nor Aayla seemed to bother eating at any point – then sneaked a tablet off a desk.

She roamed through the daily news until she was bored – which happened quickly – then settled the engine back down, sitting at the table and sighing deeply.

When her mind started roaming off to other places, it soon remembered her last vision with Obi-Wan.

Who was that "he"? She was feeling like the sole memory of that pronoun made her heart twitch in her chest, as if it would awaken as soon as she found out who it was beating for.

A stupid thought. Jedis couldn't ever fall in love.

No, she surely had her heart broken on a different level...

And yet, she felt as if the herself from her vision had been utterly dead inside...

!-!-!-!-!

Carrock made his ship land onto a supplier's tower in Coruscant late that evening.

Aayla thanked him with a kiss on each cheek, and promised in her own way they would see each other again. Then she gestured Irri off the ship, and they hurried off without a look behind.

"I will be happy to reach the temple."

Irri's eyes widened. "You just said-"

"He was a nice person, but I am tired of having had to listen to his stories all day. Plus, I wish to have a word with the Counsel."

"Oh..." Irri seemed deep in thought.

Which didn't pass unnoticed. "What is it young one?"

Irri's eyes settled back up onto her master's face. "I'd like a word with Master Yoda, I think."

Aayla smiled at that. "You are becoming wiser by the day, Irri. I shall ask for a meeting."

"Thank you, Master."

She really needed answers...


	6. Encounters

_A/N: Hey guys, I've already finished this book, and started writing the second one. Geez, I think this prequel is proving easier to write than its sequel, Debts unpaid and consorts. ^^_

* * *

**6. Encounters**

* * *

Master Secura had managed to get Irri a meeting with Master Yoda not hours later, although late at night.

The small green Jedi was waiting for her in one of the meditation rooms in the temple.

She took a deep breath before entering.

And bowed to the master.

"Come and sit, young padawan. What is it enquire me about you need to?"

Irri sat crossed-legged on a cushion before him. "I have had visions, Master. Visions that unsettle me greatly."

"Visions, you say. What about those visions were?"

She closed her eyes to remember every detail. "I am an adult. I think it might be several years in the future. Maybe ten, maybe more. Obi-Wan Kenobi is with me, although now a Jedi Master. We are on an asteroid, and talking about hiding, and someone I have to stop."

"What about that person does your heart tell you?"

Irri sighed. "That he is dear to me, somehow. And also that he is dangerous. Obi-Wan doesn't want me to go try and stop him."

She opened her eyes. The Jedi Master seemed to carefully ponder her words.

"Strong the twitch in the Force is today. Linked to your vision I fear it might be."

Irri's eyes widened. "You believe the "he" in my vision might be the same that provokes those changes?"

"Sure I am of nothing. Meditate about this I must. As for you, young padawan," he stood and took his cane to balance himself, "think carefully you must. Choices change visions can and often do. Now try and sleep."

She nodded and bowed her head. "Thank you, Master Yoda."

But before he exited the darkening room, he had one last word to pass. "Truly sorry I am for the loss of your family."

Which left Irri standing awkwardly there, tears streaming down her face.

!-!-!-!-!

Later, much later, after Irri had slept a few hours and rested her mind – which needed it – the young padawan was summoned to the counsel room.

Saying she was shaking with fear is an understatement.

Irri had been only once in that room. The day Master Secura had taken her as apprentice. Since then, never once.

And she was summoned.

Oh dear.

!-!-!-!-!

"Padawan Nabié, you have been summoned here today because the time has come."

Irri was standing in the middle of the room, her master behind her, and she was facing the Master addressing her – Master Windu.

She had always been afraid of him, with his deep voice and severe face.

So she kept her eyes down, and breathed deeply, counting the seconds.

"Your Master has asked for you to start learning the ways of the sabre."

Irri's eyes widened and the padawan cast them up, meeting the dark ones of Mace Windu to make sure she had heard well.

"It is a great honour, Master. Thank you."

He nodded once, and Irri felt her Master's hand on her shoulder.

"Come now child. Better start early."

Irri grinned widely as she bowed to the Counsel. She even thought she saw Master Yoda smile back.

It took all her will not to saunter towards the practise room.

!-!-!-!-!

In the Jedi Order, padawans were only taught how to swing a light-sabre once before being taken as apprentice by a Master.

It was Master Yoda who took care of those short lessons during which all beginners had a blindfold. The aim was to make them sense a blasting ball through the Force and shoot its blasts away.

An easy exercise. Irri had mastered it soon, being as Force-sensitive as she was. But she had never again touched the hilt of a sabre.

!-!-!-!-!

Her Master gave her a practise sabre, one which would disconnect would it approach flesh too much. Harmless for beginners.

Aayla gestured Irri to take a few paces back, then lit her own blue sabre.

"I master Forms IV and V of the light-sabre art. Ataru is a form for defence you can choose to master. But it takes its toll. You can choose to master Soresu, the Form III, which is less demanding in energy. Djem so, however, is a very dangerous form. The form of aggression. Should you wish me to teach you, you have to be aware that you will be tempted by the Dark Side."

Irri processed these informations quickly and nodded. "Can you show me some moves of the two, Master?"

Aayla nodded, than back flipped into complex moves which sent her in complete vulnerability if her sabre stopped moving around. "Ataru."

Then she changed radically. She less jumped and moved around, but whirled her sabre more around her fingers, making it dangerously near her skin. "Djem so."

Irri gasped. And then her Master stopped, and clicked her sabre off.

"So. What do you choose?"

Irri closed her eyes and rewinded the moves in her head. She was lean and tall for her age. Ataru shouldn't be difficult if she grew up to be tall and skinny. And if her visions were right...she'd be.

"I choose to master the Forms IV and...II, Makashi."

Aayla's brown eyes widened. "Form II is only used for light-sabre against light-sabre combat. Surely you know that."

Irri smirked. "I do. And wish to master it."

Her Master's eyes were still wide, but she seemed to accept one evidence: her padawan knew something she didn't. "So be it. But I can't teach you Form II. You will have to learn with Master Ti."

Irri smiled a little and nodded. She liked Shaak-Ti. She was a kind Master. And she was her own master's friend. She wouldn't have any problems learning with her. She hoped.

"Good. Now, step up. We'll start with Form I, Schii-cho. It is the first form you must master."

Irri stepped forward and took a stance her master soon corrected.

And her first sparring lesson started.

!-!-!-!-!

Five hours later, Irri was aching everywhere. Her back, arms and legs were sore from all the moves she had had to memorise and imitate to perfection.

As patient as Aayla might be when it came to use the Force, she was heartless when it came to light-sabre.

She was about to join her quarters for a nap when she felt a enormous twitch in the Force.

Similar to the one she had felt on Tatooine the day before.

So Irri turned around and all-but-ran towards the hangar.

Master Jinn had arrived, she was certain of it.

!-!-!-!-!

She reached the bay in no time.

Master Jinn and Obi-Wan hadn't yet walked off their shuttle.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at her sight, while Master Jinn seemed rather amused by her appearance.

"Irri Nabié. How predictable."

She cringed at that but bowed nonetheless. "Master Jinn. I sensed you coming here with the Force. But I felt a greater twitch. Have you taken the boy with you on Coruscant?"

Master Jinn exchanged a quick look with Obi-Wan. "Indeed we have. You are very sensitive with the Force, Irri. Be careful. Some might wish to use this to their own advantage." He took a pace forward and passed her, patting her shoulder as he went.

Obi-Wan stopped in front of her before following his master. "You seem rather gleeful. Might I know the reason?"

Irri grinned before turning on her heels and running back to her quarters. "I've started training for the light-sabre today."

!-!-!-!-!

But it was not her time to sleep yet, apparently.

For only two hours after she had settled down on her bed to take a rest, the twitch came back. Stronger than ever.

Like a throbbing. Like a heartbeat.

Irri's eyes shot open and she abruptly sat in her bed.

He was there.

!-!-!-!-!

She followed the heartbeat to the counsel room.

There, before the door, was waiting a boy.

He was clothed like a farmer, or a slave, of the planet she had just left.

His sandy-blond hair was untidy, and his dirty-blue eyes betrayed his anxiety.

She stopped a few yards away and cleared her throat.

The boy's eyes snapped to her and widened as he looked her up and down.

"Hello."

He gaped one long moment, then shook himself out of it. "Hi." He took one deep breath. "Are you a padawan?"

She smiled and took a pace forward, nodding. "I am Irri. Irri Nabié."

"My name is Anakin Skywalker."

"Nice to meet you Anakin." She outstretched a hand he quickly shook.

"How old are you?"

The question unsettled Irri at first, and then she understood the meaning behind the words. "I'm nine. You?"

"Nine also." His eyes cast down.

Irri put a finger under his chin to make him look at her again. "It doesn't mean you won't be a good Jedi. You are powerful, I can feel it."

He seemed to regain his curiosity at once. "You can feel the Force?"

She grinned. "So will you, soon. I'm sure your master will teach you that first."

Anakin's eyes darted to the still sealed door of the counsel room. "Who do you think they'll give me if I'm accepted?"

Irri thought quick. "Master Mundi, perhaps. He has no apprentice for the moment, and he's kind. You'll do well with him."

"I would have liked to stay with Qui-Gon."

But Irri had no time to answer as the door then slid open, revealing that same Qui-Gon.

He totally ignored Irri and locked eyes with Anakin. "You can come in."

The boy looked at his companion. "Will I see you later?"

She grinned wider. "Of course."

And when the door closed onto his smile, Irri felt like she had made a new friend for life.

Hopefully...


	7. Choices and trainings

**7. Choices and trainings**

* * *

Irri waited for Anakin before the door, taking her time to meditate, thought this time she focussed onto the strong vergence in the Force that stood behind the counsel door.

Anakin came back an hour later. Accompanied by Master Jinn and Obi-Wan.

The boy came to sit next to Irri at once.

Obi-Wan sighed but did the same.

"Why is it you follow us everywhere?"

She smirked and tilted her head to the side. "And what tells you I'm here for you, eh?" He huffed and rolled his eyes while she turned to Anakin. "How did it go?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. They said I was afraid."

Irri felt all colour fading in her face. That wasn't a good thing, being afraid. She knew lots about it. "It's about your family, isn't it?"

He nodded. "I miss my mother."

She sighed. "Anakin, you-"

"Ani. Call me Ani."

Irri grinned. "Ani. You must understand that you won't lose her. You are just apart for a moment. I myself have gone back to my home-planet to visit my parents. It had been a long time, but they were there."

Master Jinn's eyes settled on her weirdly.

Anakin's curiosity knew no bounds, it seemed. "How did it go for you?"

Irri's eyes locked on Master Jinn. And she lied. "Perfect."

And the boy smiled. "Thank you Irri."

"You're welcome."

Then the door slid open again. The Counsel had decided if Anakin would be trained or not.

Obi-Wan stood first and pulled Irri up with him, planting his hands on her shoulders and looking at her very seriously. "Go and have some sleep. We'll still be there in the morning."

Irri sleepily smiled up at him. "Thanks Obi-Wan." Then she turned to Anakin. "See you tomorrow Ani. I'll be crossing my fingers for you."

The boy smiled shyly at her. "Thanks."

!-!-!-!-!

**"You do not think this a good idea."**

** Irri was standing on a balcony here on Coruscant. Her hands were playing with her leather necklace. Someone was standing behind her. It was he who had spoken.**

** She sighed. "I don't know, Ani. Perhaps it is a good idea to hide her onto her own planet, but I do not think you should go alone."**

** "Then come with us."**

** She closed her eyes, her heart painfully throbbing in her chest.**

** A moment passed, a silence stretched.**

** "I'll come."**

!-!-!-!-!

Once again, Irri woke up with a start.

Those visions were more and more vivid as time passed.

But this time, she was with Anakin. Whose face had been hidden by her own stance.

Surely her throbbing heart had something to do with him, but what?

And why had she felt so sad?

!-!-!-!-!

The following morning found Irri in the training room with her master, although her mind was not quiet.

And apparently, it showed.

"Your mind is troubled, young one. Speak up, what is the matter?"

Irri put down her practise sabre. "The boy who arrived with Master Jinn is not there, master. I've looked everywhere through the Force. His signature is gone."

Aayla sighed. "Irri... Master Jinn has left Coruscant late last night. He and his padawan Obi-Wan are attempting to take back Naboo. I'm sure he has taken the boy with him."

Irri felt betrayed. He had promised!

But as soon as the pang echoed in her chest, it disappeared.

"I understand. I will wait for his return then, and pray they manage to take back my home-planet."

Aayla nodded. "I'm proud of you, Irri. Now stand. We have still much to do."

!-!-!-!-!

Later that day, Irri locked herself into one meditation room.

She had found that she could read the Force enough to make what was happening onto another planet, although far it was.

Her mind was locked onto Naboo and onto the three life forms that were specifically linked to the Force.

Late in the morning, they had reached a congregations of lesser beings – Gungans, she guessed.

And the the middle of the afternoon, they all reached Theed.

Qui-Gon kept Anakin close, she could feel.

Until...

"No!"

Irri's eyes flashed open, and fear leaked into her heart long enough for her to lose connection for a split moment.

A fourth Force-sensitive had appeared.

And a much darker one...

Irri's blood froze in her veins, but she forced herself back into her meditation.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had left with the stranger, while Anakin was...leaving Theed at high speed...no, he was not leaving Theed. He was leaving the planet!

This time Irri's eyes shot open with no chance of going back.

She could not understand anything that happened out there if she wasn't with them.

All she could do was wait.

And fight the disturbing feeling she had something might very well turn wrong...

!-!-!-!-!

Irri was making her way to the library – searching desperately for a way to entertain herself and change her course of thoughts – when she felt something huge happen in the Force.

An immense hole. Something – or someone – disappearing for good.

Irri fell to her knees and clutched her tunic just above her heart.

"Please no."

She closed her already teary eyes and focussed onto the signature of those she had been spying on earlier.

One was missing.

!-!-!-!-!

"Padawan Nabié?"

Irri's eyes shot open, her heart still painful, her body still shaking in pain.

Master Yoda was standing in front of her, his huge green eyes sad too.

She tried to stand but failed, falling to her knees once again.

Even her voice was shaking. "Master Jinn...he's-"

"He is. Grave thing the loss of a Master is, grave indeed." The old master, small as he was, could put a helpful hand to Irri's shoulder without crouching. "Close your mind to the pain you must."

Her eyes met his, although through the tears she could not very well see his face. "He was my friend."

"And mine. Wrong it would be to be weak because of him."

Irri nodded, understanding the words. "It'd be better to grieve silently."

"Grief is not pain. Grief remembering, honouring is. Qui-Gon in our hearts remain."

And this time she managed to stand.

And bow low. "Thank you Master."

His eyes were still dark with sorrow. "Rest we must. A dreamless sleep those who knew him best will need. Go to the medics I will. Take belladonna we all will."

She nodded. "I will wait for delivery in my quarters." She bowed again, then turned around to go back the way she had come.

Her Master was waiting for her at the door.

No words were exchanged.

Aayla opened her arms, and Irri went to nestle herself in her grasp.

Tears silently flowing down their cheeks.


	8. New beginnings

_A/N: There it is, the last chapter of this first instalment. :) Hope you enjoyed it although it was a slow start. The epilogue will be up shortly, and I'm already three chapters in the second book. ;)_

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**8. New beginnings**

* * *

Irri slept soundly that night, thanks to the vial Master Yoda procured her later that night.

But the first thought she had when she awoke on the following morning was that she would never again see Master Jinn. Never again she would talk with him about the Living Force, about the visions she had.

Never again she would joke with him.

Tears didn't fall though this time. The pain was still there, but as Master Yoda had said...it had turned into grief.

!-!-!-!-!

"Good, Irri, very good!"

The padawan disconnected her light-sabre and wiped the sweat off her brow. "Really, Master?"

Aayla nodded gravely. Her face still bore the marks of her own grief. "Yes, really. If I am not mistaken, it will only take you a semester to master Schii-cho. We will be able to start with Ataru later this year."

Irri grinned, then thought quickly. "Then I will have to work out. Practise the martial arts."

Aayla smiled a little. "Yes. I am surprised you even put so much heart into this, young one."

Her padawan smirked at that. "You have no idea how long I've waited to grip the hilt of one of these light-sabres."

Master Secura rolled her eyes at that. "I just hope one day you stop being this impatient with everything."

Irri hid her next smirk. "I'm sure it won't be long now." While internally, she wished all the contrary.

!-!-!-!-!

"Padawan Nabié?"

Irri was heading towards her quarters, two reading-tablets in her arms, when she heard her name called.

She whirled around, her blonde plait bouncing on her shoulder.

It was one of the youngest Knights. "Yes, Knight Edun?"

"You are awaited for in the main hangar."

She nodded. "I will go at once. Thank you."

The young man whirled on his heels and hurried away, while Irri's heart was beating frantically against her ribs.

What was she called for at this hour?

It was almost dusk!

!-!-!-!-!

The hangar seemed empty when she entered it.

Seemed, she had said.

"Irri!"

The young girl's heart panged in her chest as she recognized the voice. "Ani?"

The boy escaped the shadows he had been hiding in.

He was changed.

He now wore the traditional beige tunic of the Apprentice, and his hair had been cut, a small plait bouncing just under his right ear.

"You have been accepted?"

He hurried to her and smiled widely. "And Obi-Wan is my master!"

To that Irri's attention focussed on the man now pacing calmly towards the two children.

Obi-Wan too was changed.

He had been tested in one of the hardest trials a padawan could ever experience: the Trial of the Flesh. His master had died. Probably under his own gaze.

Irri left Anakin's side and ran to Obi-Wan, wrapping her arms around his torso.

The now Knight Kenobi frowned for a short moment before hugging her back.

Irri's mind reached for his, although it was the first time she ever did that with someone else than Aayla.

"_I am so sorry, Obie._"

He sighed for real, but answered in mind. "_I'll be fine, Irri, do not worry._" Then he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, switching back to normal speech. "I wanted to see you upon our arrival."

She untangled herself from him, her brow furrowed. "What for?"

A small smile played at his lips. "Anakin needs teaching."

Irri's heart jumped in her chest. "And?"

To that, Obi-Wan seriously smiled. "Will you teach him how to meditate?"

A huge and genuine smile appeared on her lips, and she giggled as she hugged him again. "With pleasure!"

!-!-!-!-!

The following evening, two padawans stood on top of one of the Temple's towers, gazing into the sunset.

Anakin was playing with a knife in his hands, carving something, while Irri was just marvelling in the warmth of the sun on her skin.

After a long moment, a hand touched her, placing something in between her fingers.

Irri's eyes opened, and looked down only to widen at the sight she was given.

A brown leather bound, in the middle of which was carved a beautiful piece of wood. On it were carved intricate runes.

Her eyes met Ani's. "What does it mean?"

He smiled shyly. "Friend, in the language of the slaves."

Irri reached in and took his hand. "Thank you, Ani. Does that mean we are friends for life?"

He nodded. "For life. We can't betray one another."

"Or hurt one another."

"We'll always be honest with each other."

"And help each other when we can."

Anakin smiled widely. "Deal."

Irri then smirked and reached for the knife he still clutched in his right hand. "Then let's make it official." She didn't even wince when the blade entered the soft flesh of her palm.

Anakin reached for the handle and inflicted himself the same wound.

Then both closed their palms on one another's.

Whispering words that would change their lives and many other's.

"_Deal._"


	9. Epilogue: Sparring

_A/N: Hello dear readers! So, this is the short epilogue to this first instalment. As I said before, I'm alreadu three chapters in the sequel. Look up for it tomorrow, it'll be called** Kept hidden**. enjoy! :)_

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**Epilogue: Sparring**

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It was five years after the events of Naboo.

Irri Nabié, now fourteen, had long since mastered the Form I of the light-sabre art, and had started to quietly master Form IV.

Form II, however...

She was having difficulties with the thoughts of sparring against her teacher, Shaak-Ti, who constantly told her she had to be more aggressive to have a chance.

But wanting one another wounded was not an habit for Irri, who had chosen that form to master for defence more than for attack.

Her master, Aayla Secura, had long since understood the motives of her student, but never talked about those scarring visions.

And our scene takes place in the sparring room, where Irri lights her practise sabre, a blue one.

!-!-!-!-!

"You'll never win if you spar like this, Irri!"

The young woman – she had had her first encounters with the less than pretty sides of being a woman a year prior – glared at her opponent. "Never asked you to train with me, Ani!"

He smirked devilishly, the gesture sending sparks in his blue eyes.

Irri hated the way these sparks sent her heart beating frantically.

"If I hadn't volunteered, you wouldn't have known how good I was."

She muttered under her breath. "How good you are...pretentious little-"

"Oi there, I can hear you! What will Obi-Wan say about that?"

Irri grunted and tried to open Anakin's guard, to no avail. "He won't say anything. He's not my brother."

"Yeah, say that again."

He fell silent, his sabre held high.

!-!-!-!-!

Anakin Skywalker had grown since his first encounter with Irri.

He had gained height, not yet muscle, and his voice had not yet turned into a more masculine one, but he definitely was more mature-looking.

Irri had stopped giving him lessons six months after he had enrolled. He was having livid visions earlier than any other padawan Irri knew about.

And had started with the light-sabre a mere year after he had been taken padawan by Obi-Wan.

He had decided to master Form V, Djem-so, and III, Soresu. But, as Irri now realised, he was well-versed in Form VII too. Vaapad. The deadliest of forms if you were not prepared to the Dark Side's appeal.

!-!-!-!-!

"Ani, where the hell have you learnt that move?"

The boy shrugged. "Saw Master Windu teach it to his padawan. Tried it, and it worked."

Irri huffed. "Show-off."

The smirk returned, and with it the sparks, and butterflies in Irri's stomach. "You love it."

And unfortunately, she did.


End file.
